The invention relates to a multiple packaging device for containers which have lip flanges and covers, and which are held together by a connecting element made of cardboard or a similar existing material which grips the containers.
A known multiple packaging device is disclosed in published German patent application No. 30 47 467. The known device comprises a connecting element having a cut-out top face on which the top surfaces of the containers rest and side pieces which connect to each other through folds and perforations, and a corresponding bottom layer which connects to the top layer. Openings are provided in the top face in order to support the lip flanges of the containers, and in the bottom face, bridging pieces are provided which are folded over fold lines and are squeezed between the containers. The known multiple packaging device is expensive and has the serious disadvantage that the top and side surfaces of the packed containers are completely surrounded, which not only greatly increases material usage but also prevents the recognition of any markings which are imprinted on the containers. This can then only be rectified by imprinting the packaging system itself, which necessarily leads to very high costs and requires an added expense in each case. Lastly, known multiple packaging devices are connected at overlapping areas of their bottom surfaces, thus making it more difficult to break open a packaging system to remove single containers. Correspondingly, if a single container is removed, the entire pack is opened up, a result which is not always desired.
Some variations of the above described solutions are already employed in practice. With these variations, the packaging device does not surround the whole container but rather only in the upper most third, and is such that its connecting element grips the container in a box-type manner. In each case, however, a large material outlay is required and causes, as before, the disadvantage that the top surfaces of the containers are covered, so that the packaging system itself must be imprinted on its top side and, in some cases, the bottom side in order to identify the contents.